Obama orders feds to nearly triple use of renewable energy

By Jake Miller

December 5, 2013 / 10:52 AM
/ CBS News

As part of an unfolding administrative effort to curb U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions, President Obama announced an executive order on
Thursday that would nearly triple the share of energy federal agencies obtain from renewable sources.

Obama: Have "courage" to act on climate changeTo “promote energy security, combat climate change, protect
the interests of taxpayers, and safeguard the health of our environment, the
federal government must lead by example,” declared a memorandum from the
president announcing the order.

The government currently obtains more than 7 percent of its
energy from renewable sources, according to a fact sheet distributed by the
White House, but the president says recent increases in domestic energy
production make a 20 percent target feasible by 2020. The higher target, the
White House argued, would “reduce pollution in
our communities, promote American energy independence, and support homegrown
energy produced by American workers.”

And just on Tuesday, the administration unveiled a plan to
help retrofit multifamily housing units and condominiums with energy efficiency
upgrades, and it released a 2014 fuel economy guide to promote efficient
vehicles among consumers.

Federal agencies have already decreased their carbon
emissions by 15 percent since he took office in 2009, the president noted in
his memorandum.